Locked In
by malificium
Summary: Hi I'm Sakura Haruno, daughter of Keiko and Akio Haruno. But today, I wish I wasn't. Because maybe then I wouldn't be in this mess. - the first three chapters are by Ryoko101  who is a goddess...
1. The Crazy Idea

_This chapter and the following two chapters belong to Ryoko101. Please see my profile for more details._

_Naruto© belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. No infringement of copyright is intended._

* * *

><p>I'm not sure why I thought that this would be the perfect summer vacation. I must have been crazy, or maybe it was my parents who had gone nuts. Either way, this is not how I expected to spend this summer. I guess I should start from the beginning, huh? Alright, my name is Sakura Haruno, daughter of Akio and Keiko Haruno. Today is the first official day of summer vacation, and so far it's not going so well. Here's how it started:<p>

3

2

1

BRINNGGG!

"WHOO! SCHOOLS OUT EVERYBODY!" I yelled for the whole world to hear.

"You said it it girl!" Ino, my best friend in the world yelled back to me while she jumped up and down from happiness.

"No more pencils, no more books, NO MORE TEACHER'S DIRTY LOOKS!"

" Would you shut it dobe? Your screaming is hurting my ears."

"HEY! DON'T CALL ME A DOBE YOU TEME!"

"I told you to shut up Dobe!"

"Teme!"

"Dobe!"

"Teme!"

"Dobe!"

"TEME!"

"WOULD YOU TWO KNUCKLE HEADS SHUT UP ALREADY?" I yelled at the two rivals. "You are always so loud Naruto! And Sasuke, you too! Can't you take it like a man instead of a sissy?" I screamed again before punching Naruto on the head.

"Hn, whatever."

"OW, Sakura-chan that hurt!"

"You deserved it Naruto!"

"AND SASUKE, STOP IT WITH THOSE HN'S ALREADY!"

"Hn."

"Sasuke... you are sooo ANNOYING!"

Those two drive me crazy with their fighting, I swear. They're still my friends though, so it's okay. Along with the knuckle heads, I'm best friends with Ino Yamanaka, who I knew since we were in diapers. Also, I'm friends with Hinata Hyuga, Tenten Tattegane, Neji Hyuga, and Shikamaru Nara. We're a big group and have a lot of fun together.

"Hey guys, why don't you come to my house and we can have a mini 'Happy Summer Vacation' party?" suggested Tenten.

"That sounds awesome!" said an already psyched Ino.

"Umm.. guys, we can't go know because, well, I just received a text from my father saying that we all had to meet him and the rest of our parents at the Hyuga Summer House." interrupted Hinata.

"Well this better be quick.." I mumbled, upset at the fact of delaying a would be awesome party.

" YOUR SAYING WE HAVE TO DO WHAT?" I yelled to my mother, Keiko, who was wearing a sly grin on her face.

"You heard me," Keiko said " all eight of you will spend your entire summer locked in this here summer house."

" B-b-b-but, you can't do that! I can't spend my ENTIRE summer locked in a house with THESE buffoons!" I retorted pointing to the boys of our group.

"Yes you can sweetie. All of us parents decided and you WILL obey, understood?"

"B-b-b-but, DADDY WON'T LET ME STAY LOCKED UP IN A HOUSE WITH A BUNCH OF BOYS! So there. I close my case." I answered with a humph.

"Well, actually Sakura, this was my idea in the first place.." Akio said sheepishly while scratching the back of his head.

"WHAT? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? DON'T TELL ME WE HAVE TO SHARE ROOMS WITH THEM TOO!"

"Well, actually there aren't enough rooms for all of you, so you'll have to share." answered Aki, Ino's mom.

"I call sharing with Saki!" said Ino, holding up my hand.

"I'll stay with Hinata!" said Tenten, holding up Hinata's hand similar to the way Ino held up mine.

"And we are the one's picking your partners." Aki said, wincing as to get ready for the scream that was sure to come.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME!" we all yelled knowing that we surely weren't gonna get our way.

"Come, I'll show you where your rooms are." offered Inoichi, Ino's father.

"This is so troublesome" complained Shikamaru, yawning loudly.

We followed Inoichi up the stairs where we saw four master bedrooms; each with a king size bed and bathroom. I was glad we didn't ALL have to share one bathroom, but to think there was only one bed in each room; I didn't exactly like that idea.

"OK, before you guys start complaining about the rooms, take note that this part of the plan was Yoshina's idea. So don't go killing me about it." Inoichi said calmly, looking at the eight of us with a warning glance.

"That troublesome women, I still don't know what my father say in her..." complained Shikamaru.

I ignored his complaints for I was used to them. Instead I focused on Inoichi as he prepared to reveal our roommates for the whole summer.

"Ahem," Inoichi started, clearing his throat, "staying in the first room will be Ino and Shikamaru"

"WHAT? BUT HE'S THE LAZIEST PERSON ON EARTH! DADDY HOW COULD YOU?" Ino quickly complained.

"Sweetie, I told you the roommates were not my idea so would you PLEASE stop trying to kill me?" chocked out Inoichi as he struggled to break free from his daughter's grasp on his collar.

"Oh, hehehe, sorry Daddy." , she said letting him go.

"This is so troublesome. I'm stuck with the loudest girl on earth...", once again complained Shikamaru.

"Shut up lazy boy! I'm not happy about this either ya know!" , yelled Ino into the poor boy's ear.

"OW! Ino, that hurts ya know!"

"Well good, cause you deserved it!"

"Can I continue?" interrupted Inoichi.

"Oh sure, sorry Daddy!"

"Good, now in the next room is Tenten and Neji."

"YAY! I get to stay with my awesome boyfriend!" screamed a giggly Tenten as she jumped on Neji's back.

"Hn." was all Neji said. But I could see how happy he really was.

"Well, at least we have one pair who's happy" sighed Inoichi wondering how he got the job of giving out the roommates. Oh yes, he remembered now, his wife blackmailed him into it.

"Now, I shall continue. Next is Hinata and Naruto in this room right here." he said while opening the door to reveal a master bedroom; while ignoring a happy Naruto and a blushing Hinata.

'I'm sharing a room with Naruto-kun? Oh, what will he think? And there's only one bed!' thought Hinata as she blushed ten-fold.

"Cool! I get to share a room with Hinata-chan!"

"Ahem, moving on now. Next is -" said Inoichi again clearing his throat.

At this my heart was racing. The only ones left were Sasuke and me. I couldn't bear share a room with him!

"Sakura and Sasuke" he finished.

But then again, it looks like I have no choice...

"Hn" was the only reaction Sasuke gave. Mine was different.

"MY LIFE IS ENDING!"

After my scream, we were dragged back downstairs where we saw my mother standing there looking very pleased at my torture.

"Thanks Inoichi, you can leave them to me now." she said a little to sweetly.

"Right" he said leaving to go back into the living room with the other parents.

"OK guys, I'm here to answer any questions you might have." she said clasping her hands together as looked at us with a twinkle in her crimson eyes. Naruto had one.

"Who's gonna cook? And can they make ramen?"

At this my mother laughed, making her pink hair bob.

"Don't worry Naruto, I'm sure the cooks we hired can cook up anything you want. We also have maids to clean and we hired others to do the shopping for you. This way you have no excuse to leave the house."

"SHOPPING? I can't let a bunch of old maids go to Mac to get my make-up for me!" Ino screamed looking as if she had just been told she was going to die tomorrow.

"I meant grocery shopping Ino. If you want to do fun shopping you can. Just as long as Itachi or Kiku come along with you."

As if on cue, the couple came in the room; Itachi looking bored while Kiku looked the quite opposite.

"What are you doing here big brother?" asked Sasuke with a hiss and glare.

"Oh calm down otutou, just because your embarrassed of having to share a room with a pretty girl doesn't mean you have to yell at me for it." said a now very amused Itachi.

"Shut up" retorted Sasuke.

I giggled at their fight. Though in the inside, I was slightly embarrassed considering that Itachi Uchiha just indirectly called me pretty. He probably just said it to bug Sasuke.

"Quite fighting you two!" scolded my mother as she wagged a finger at them as if they were two years old. "Now, do you have anymore questions?" She was met with silence. "OK, and before I forget, you don't have to go home and pack, we already have your things in the dressers of your assigned rooms. And don't worry, you won't be missing anything. It'll feel just like home." At this she received a loud groan from all of us."Alright then, hope you have a great summer!" She and the other parents started walking out the door. She turned to walk out but stopped at the door. Turning around to face me she said, "Oh and Saki, one more piece of advice, use birth control pills, OK? I'm to young to be a grandma."

"MOM!" I yelled at her, clearly embarrassed at her words. She ignored me and walked out the door locking it as she left. We were now officially locked in.


	2. Decisions and Confusion

_This chapter, the previous chapter and the following chapter belong to Ryoko101. Please see my profile for more details._

_Naruto© belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. No infringement of copyright is intended._

* * *

><p>"I'm hungry" Naruto stated out of the blue.<p>

"THAT'S ALL YOU THINK ABOUT ISN'T IT NARUTO?" I screamed into his face.

"Mou, Sakura-chan, you don't have to yell about it..."

"SHUT UP YOU MORON BFORE I PUNCH YOU!"

"Shutting up..."

"Good."

I crossed my arms satisfied with my work. Not soon after I heard a grumble come from the floor where Naruto was still sitting.

"Sakura-chan, I'm really hungry..." he whined. I sighed rolling my eyes.

"Fine, I guess I'm pretty hungry myself. But I don't trust these cooks in making good food worth eating. And I can tell you I'm not cooking; I can burn boiled water! Ino can't cook either, we don't need another kitchen on fire..."

"Hey! That was an accident!"

"Ino, you burnt ramen in the microwave, I don't think we should take chances."

"Fine, well what about Tenten? She's a good cook!"

"Umm.. I'd rather not actually..."

Simultaneously, the three of us turned our heads to Hinata, who was looking a little horrified by now.

"Um.. I guess I don't mind cooking.." she said as she twiddled her thumbs.

"YAY! SHE MAKES THE BEST RAMEN IN THE WORLD!" Naruto yelled before enveloping a blushing Hinata into a giant hug.

'Naruto-kun..'

"Um, Naruto, I think your suffocating her... plus, she can't make ramen if you don't let her go.." Ino pointed out.

"Oh, sorry Hinata-chan!" He said looking quite worried.

"It's OK Naruto-kun, don't worry."

"That's good!" he said, now looking much happier.

"Hinata, sorry to interrupt you, but I'm hungry!" I rudely interrupted.

"Oh, right! Sorry!" she said, running into the kitchen, most likely about to make some ramen.

"Yum! This is delicious Hinata-chan! You'd be an awesome wife!" Naruto told her with a mouthful of ramen from his eighth bowl.

'A wife?' "T-t-thank you, Naruto-kun..."

After eating, we watched 'Snow White' though I'm still not sure how we decided on that one... By now it was getting late and Ino was the first to notice.

"Hey guys, don't you think we should hit the sack? It's getting late..."

"Aww, but Ino, it's only 3:00 AM..." whined Naruto.

"Only 3:00 AM? That's late! We have to get some sleep if we want to stay healthy!"

"But Ino, I thought you liked to party. Your always the last one to be tired." Tenten pointed out; who was currently sitting on Neji's lap.

"I think she just can't wait to share a room with Shikamaru." I said slyly, knowing about her secret crush on the pineapple haired boy. She blushed and glared at me. "What are you talking about? I'm just tired that's all."

"I'm sure that's it Ino."

"Shut up, Forehead!

"Ino-pig!"

"Forehead!"

"Ino-pig!"

"FOREHEAD!"

"INO-PIG!"

"Not this again.." muttered an annoyed Sasuke.

"They are so troublesome." muttered an even more annoyed Shikamaru.

The two pulled us away from each other; Shikamaru pulling Ino and Sasuke pulling me.

"Let go of me you Chicken butt headed freak!"

"You too, you Pineapple head!"

"Hn, no."

"This is such a drag, but I can't let go."

We both struggled in their firm grip for about five minutes before giving up.

"Giving up?" Sasuke said with a smirk.

"Grr... yes." I replied with a pout.

"Good, now lets go upstairs and get some sleep. The others are already up except for those two." he said nodding his head toward Ino and Shikamaru.

"I'm not tired though, and your still holding me!" I said looking at his arms which were still around my waist.

"Oh, um sorry.." he said, letting go of me and looking slightly embarrassed. This confused me. Why would Sasuke be embarrassed. It was just me; his childhood friend. Oh well, I must be imagining things...

"Come on Sasuke, lets go upstairs." I said with a yawn. "I'm tired. Ya coming Ino?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, go up ahead."

"OK, goodnight!"

We head up the stairs into our room which was the last in the hall. It was when we reached the door that I remembered there was only one bed.

"Um.. Sasuke, who's sleeping on the bed?"

"You can, I don't mind sleeping on the floor."

"Are you sure? Because really, I honestly don't don't mind-

"Shhh..." he said putting his hands to my lips.

"I'll sleep on the floor and you'll sleep on the bed, OK?" I was to shocked to say argue, so I just nodded my head.

"Good." he simply stated walking into the room. By the time I had recovered from my shock and walked in, Sasuke had already put sheets down on the floor for himself. I looked into one of the dressers that seemed to be mine; noting that my hairbrush was on it. I opened it to find some pajama's and headed for the bathroom.

"I'm gonna go change now, OK Sasuke?"

"Hn."

As I was changing, I was also thinking. 'Why had he insisted so much? He could have just let me sleep on the floor. And then when he told me to shhh. That was so out of character for him...Oh well, I shouldn't worry about it. I'm just tired, that's all.' After another sigh, I walked back into the room and climbed into bed. Sasuke was already sleeping; or I thought so.

"Sasuke, why do you always confuse me? Even when we were kids you confused me. One second your all 'Hn this Hn that' and then next thing I know, your acting nice offering me free ice-cream! It's like you were pricked by this fairy being you reminds you to be nice or something..."

I tended to ramble like this when I was confused; and I normally did it to sleeping people . Poor sleeping people...

"And then there's the time when you get all uncomfortable around me. It's not like I have the cooties or anything, and since when is the Sasuke Uchiha shy? It's all so complicated!"

"Not as complicated as you think..."

His voice shocked me so much that I jumped, causing me to fall off the bed and land on top of him.

"What the- Sakura?"

"Sakura, your on top of me."

"I am?"

"Yes, you are"

I looked down to see Sasuke's chest under me.

"Oops."

I quickly scrambled off of him and got back on the bed.

"How did I get there?"

"You fell off the bed."

"Oh yeah! I remember now!"

". . ."

"What?"

"N-n-nothing..."

"Um, OK."

'Did Sasuke just stutter ? Something is really wrong. I should ask Ino about it. But then she'd just say that he liked me... Ugh... I'll ask her anyway.'

With that last thought I went to sleep.


	3. What is Ino up to?

_This chapter and the previous two chapters belong to Ryoko101. Please see my profile for more details._

_Naruto© belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. No infringement of copyright is intended._

* * *

><p>BEEP<p>

BEEP

BE- BASH!

I rolled over to my side covering my head with the blankets.

"Sakura, get up." I heard a voice say from above me.

"MOOM, I don't have to get up! It's summer vacation... I don't have to get up and go to schoool..." I whined burying my head. 'That's weird, Mom sound's different. Her voice is deeper...whatever, I shouldn't think while I'm half asleep..'

"Sakura, it's already 1:00 in the afternoon. Everyone's up already."

"I don't care... I wanna sleep in all daaay..." I whined again. 'OK, she REALLY sounds different..

"Sakura if you don't get up, I'm getting Naruto to do it."

"I don't wan- "

'Wait, Naruto?'

I sat up straight in bed to see the one and only Sasuke Uchiha looking down at me.

"Sasuke?"

Blink

Blink

Blink

"Oh yeah! Sasuke! What are you doing here?"

"Don't you remember what happened yesterday?"

Blink

Blink

Blink

"Oh yeah! I remember now! Yesterday was the last day of school!"

(As you can see, Sakura is very slow; especially in the morning)

He sighed, running his hand through his hair.

"Sakura, I think you should really get something to eat..."

He grabbed my hand, dragging my very confused self out the room, down the stairs, and into the kitchen. He pushed me in where I found Ino sitting at the little island in the middle. (A/N I think you know what I'm talking about. It's that small counter that's in the middle of the kitchen that usually have the high chairs you can sit on. And spin around in. ^.^)

"Morning Honey Bunches of oats! How was your first night?"

"My fir-? Oh! I remember now! Stupid parents..."

Took you long enough Pinky!

You! I thought I got rid of you last year!

Honey, THAT was VACATION V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N. It was temporary. Don't worry doll, I'll NEVAH leave you.

That's what bothers me...

"SAKURA!"

I snapped out of my world to be slapped back into reality; I'm not kidding. Ino huffed with the towel she used to slap me now hanging innocently in her hand.

"What the hell was that for Ino?"

"I'm not sure..."

"Damn you..."

I turned away from her to see Tenten and Hinata walk into the room.

"Good Morning Saki-chan!"

"Good afternoon is more like it Hinata."

"I was just trying to cheer her up!"

"Okay, whatever."

"Morning Hinata-chan! Tenten-chan!"

Tenten took a seat by the counter while Hinata went to the stove to warm up something; most likely breakfast, for me...

"So, now that were all together," Ino said as she closed and locked the kitchen door, "Let's tell each other how our nights went!" She clasped her hands together and had that 'I want to know every single detail and you will not hold back' look on her face. I was starting to regret even thinking about telling her about Sasuke.

"Ino, its not like anything happened..." Tenten said looking quite bored on the outside.

"Of course something did! I'll go first!"

"I really don't think we-"

"Nonsense! Okay, so Shikamaru was being such a gentleman! You wouldn't have even recognized him!"

Ino's Story

After Sasuke and Sakura left upstairs, I was downstairs by myself with Shikamaru. He yawned and said he was tired, so I suggested that we 'hit the sack' I know that's something I don't usually say, but I said it anyway. He nodded and started walking up the stairs. I followed him until we reached our room. I walked in and looked around, trying to figure out how the sleeping arrangements would be. I wanted it to fair, but I couldn't think of anything; so I asked Shikamaru, him being a genius and all. He said I could sleep on the bed because 'it would be troublesome of me to have you sleep on the floor. You are a girl after all.' (A/N Refer to how Shika's sexist. He thinks it would be 'unmanly' of him to make Ino sleep on the floor. Think of it how you want :P) Can you believe it? I was, like, so shocked! Of course, being the proper lady I am, I accepted. It was like a fairytale! He slept on the floor and didn't even complain! -sigh-

End of Ino's Story

"Wow, Ino, that's a, um, interesting story..." said Hinata uneasily, you had sat down to listen by now.

"Yeah...I really can't see that happening" agreed Tenten, nodding her head.

"But he did! You can go ask him! Shikamaru really let me sleep on the bed!" Ino protested pointing to the living room where the guys were currently sitting.

"Right... I'm sure he was being really nice about it too, because you know, he is such a gentleman." I said, my voice full of sarcasm.

"Fine, you don't have to believe me." she said crossing her arms with a huff.

"Love ya too hun." I said playfully.

She stayed like that for about five seconds before quickly changing her mood.

"So Saki, how did it go with Sas-kay? Hmmm?" She said in her gossiping voice. I sighed. She really was bi-polar; but she could always tell when I was hiding something too.

"Fine, nothing happened really."

"Yeah right Saki, I know your hiding something. So spill. Now."

See what I mean?

"Okay, fine. But not here." I said pushing my now empty breakfast plate away from me. "i'm done eating, and I don't want to risk anything. Let''s go to your room Ino."

"Okay, whatever."

"Okay Saki, we're here, now talk."

I sighed. How was I supposed to tell her about Sasuke?

"Okay, we left to upstairs a little while before you, remember?" She nodded.

"Okay, so when we reached the door, I realized there was only one bed."

"IT TOOK YOU THAT LONG TO REALIZE?" Tenten cut me off, looking quite shocked.

"No, baka, I just wasn't thinking about it till then." I got a long 'oooohh' from all of them; surprising...

"Yes, so I asked Sasuke who was gonna sleep on the bed, and he told me tha-"

"OMG! Did he say you could sleep on the bed? HOW ROMANTIC!"

"Ino, could you let me finish?"

"Oh yeah, sorry."

"Thank you. Yes he told me I could sleep in the bed, and I told him it was fine if I slept on the flo-"

"OMG! WHY DID YOU REFUSE? THAT'S SO UNROMANTIC!"

"Ino."

"YOUR SUPPOSED TO DO IT LIKE THE MOVIES! AND TELL HIM HOW PLEASED YOU ARE AND"

"Ino!"

"I MEAN, YOUR NOT SUPPOSED TO REFUSE! ONLY PATHETIC PEOPLE DO THAT! THERE'S NOT ONE MOVIE WHERE THE GIRL REFUSES! I MEAN, SERIOUSLY!"

"INO!"

"Yes Saki?"

"Shut up."

"Um, OK.. you can continue.."

"Thank you. now where was I? Oh yeah! So I kept arguing with him about it untill he did something so out of character."

"WHAT DID HE DO? DID HE KISS YOU? ONG HE KISSED YOU! I KNEW IT! HE'S IN LOVE WITH YOU SAKI!"

"SHUT UP INO!

"Hinata?"

I looked at said girl who was towering over a whimpering Ino.

"Ino, if you interrupt again, you'll be very, very sorry..." She said with fire in her eyes.

"O-o-o-okay, I won't interupt Saki again.. or any of you...I promise."

"Good."

She sat back down on her place on the bed looking perfectly calm. Ino gulped.

'Scary Hinata...'

"Thanks Hinata..." I said. For once, her temper actually helped...

"Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, so NO, he did not kiss me, he told me to 'shhhh'. He even put his finger to my lips! What was that supposed to mean?"

"Can I answer her?" Ino said raising her hand, being a little too cautious.

"Yes, Ino you can answer me. Please."

"Oh , OK. Now, I think that he likes you"

"I knew you were going to say that..." I muttered, but she wasn't finished.

" But I'm not sure if it's a crush or love"

"What's the difference?"

"WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE? THERE IS A HUGE DIFFERENCE SAKURA!"

"Okay, okay, but you don't have to yell."

"When you're in love with someone, you care so deeply for that person. You love them for who they are. You would do anything for that person, even if they don't love you back. Even if they hate you, you still would push on. True love is sooo romantic..." she sighed, looking out the window in her own little world.

"O...kay... and what about a crush?" I asked, not really being the romantic type.

"Huh? Oh, well a crush is just when feel affection, not like true love..." she sighed again. I'll never understand her logic...

"Sooo, Ino, you said you weren't sure if it was true love or a crush? What were you getting at?"

"You know Tenten, you're starting to sound like Neji..."

"Shut up and answer the question, Ino."

"Ok, I was thinking that we could test him to find out what his true feelings are!"

"Like a love test? How would we do that?" asked Hinata with a slightly confused face that matched the rest of ours.

"Um, yeah sort of. More like love tests"

"Like what?"

"Well, my bun-headed friend, gather around so I can tell you my well thought out plan"

"You never think anything out..." I muttered, but got in the little huddle to listen anyway.


	4. Naruto's A Ladies' Man

_This first three chapters belong to Ryoko101. Please see my profile for more details._

_Naruto© belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. No infringement of copyright is intended._

* * *

><p>Naruto munched happily on his breakfast ramen as he sat in the living room with the other guys, who were also dining on their own <em>healthier<em> breakfasts. Everything was going great for their second day in…captivity…he'd had a good night sleep, despite sleeping on the floor.

Well, he couldn't let fragile little Hinata sleep on the hard, splinter-ridden floor…Neji would have killed him…and it would have been so unchivalrous, and Naruto may be a fool sometimes…

Ok _a lot _of times…

But he was a gentleman. And it was worth the aching back in the morning, to see the young Hyuga heiress blush and smile prettily at him and thank him for his kindness. She had even made his breakfast ramen especially for him in the morning.

As Naruto took another slurp of his noodles, he decided that Hinata's special breakfast ramen was the best he had ever tasted. He let out a girlish giggle as he remembered her handing him the bowl, blushing and bowing and apologising for causing him to sleep on floor.

"Dobe quit giggling. You sound like a five year old girl."

Naruto paused from slurping his noodles and shot, what was supposed to be, a daunting glare at Sasuke.

But Naruto isn't very good at being "daunting"…I mean, how can anything so…_orange_…be the least bit frightening. So it was kind of like a slightly annoyed glance, rather than full blown glare.

"Don't get your panties in a twist teme. Just because Hina-chan woke up bright and early to make me this special breakfast ramen, and you're stuck with boring old toast, doesn't mean you have to be a sissy about it."

Neji stopped chewing on his own breakfast momentarily "…what did he call my cousin…?"

"Dobe, why would I care about your worthless ramen?"

"_Because_, Hina-chan put a super-special-secret ingredient in it. And since you're being such a douche, I'm not going to tell you what it is."

"I really don't care what it is."

"You can beg all you want teme, I'm not telling you."

"I really don't want to know."

"Nope, teme I'm not telling you."

"I don't care dobe."

"I know you want to know, but I can't tell you."

"I don't want-"

"ALRIGHT! Your insistent begging has changed my mind; I'll tell you the secret ingredient."

Naruto slid over to the slightly disgruntled Sasuke, and pressed his face up close to the Uchiha's. "The secret ingredient is…" Naruto paused for dramatic effect.

"LOVE!"

Sasuke blinked "You're kidding right…?"

The slightly confused and also slightly agitated Hyuga male spoke up "…what exactly is he suggesting about my cousin…?"

"Nobody knows what goes though that pea sized brain of his…" Shikamaru decided that he needed to step in.

Naruto frowned at the other occupants of the living room, when a sudden thought erupted in his pea sized brain. "OH HO HO! I know why you three are so cranky!"

"…did he just say _cranky_…?"

"We should probably get him tested…"

"No one would want to come anywhere near the dobe, let alone close enough to test him."

Choosing to ignore their comments, Naruto continued "You're all PMSing 'cause you're _jealous_!"

The three companions blinked and glanced at each other.

"…who exactly does Uzumaki think we're jealous of?" asked Neji

Shikamaru provided him with an answer, "I believe Naruto thinks we're jealous …_of him_."

"Why the hell would he think that…"

"Because he's the dobe, nothing ever makes sense with him…" Sasuke answered Neji this time.

The said dobe let out a maniacal laugh. "You don't have to hide your feelings from me guys, I'm your friend." Neji scoffed, but Naruto continued "you're all just upset that Hina-chan actually likes me, and you three still haven't got any lovin' from your ladies!"

Neji started to twitch violently and his face turned a shade of red, Shikamaru and Sasuke were worried that he might spontaneously combust.

"Uzumaki…" Neji began with an eerie edge to his voice, "are you…_hitting on_…my COUSIN!"

"Naruto, you should probably start running now."

But Naruto bravely, or stupidly, ignored Shikamaru's advice and instead, he approached the fuming Hyuga and place a hand on his twitching shoulder. "Neji, calm down. Just because I'm such a ladies' man, and you're confused on how to act about your intense feelings for Tenten-"

"LISTEN UP UZUMAKI! YOU STAY AWAY FRO- wait, what was that about Tenten…?"

Sasuke and Shikamaru glance at each other…this would be interesting.

"Come on Neji, you seriously didn't think that we didn't know about your crush on Tenten, I mean, it's as obvious as Shikamaru's feelings for Ino!" Naruto said, beaming at his friends.

"I don't have feelings for Ino!" Shikamaru's voice was a few octaves higher than usual.

"And I don't have a crush on Tenten!" despite this, a crimson blush began to spread across the two boy's faces.

In his little corner, Sasuke scoffed in amusement at their reactions.

Until Naruto turned on him as well.

"And don't get me started on Sasuke's passionate and unyielding love for a certain pink-haired girl! Really teme, with the way you carry on, I'm surprised that Sakura hasn't noticed herself. But then again, she's not the most observant person out there"

Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.

Sasuke swallowed tensely "I…I don't know what you're talking about…dobe…"

"Teme," Naruto swung his arm around his best friend shoulder, "Don't try to hold your feelings in, you'll have an aneurism."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the blonde that seemed to be attached to his shoulder. The dobe was an idiot…but, Sasuke hated to admit it, he was spot on about his feelings for the clueless green-eyed, pink haired beauty. It wasn't Sasuke's fault really. He had _tried_ to suppress his feeling for Sakura, she was one of his best friends, and he didn't want to complicate things her.

But _NO_.

She just _had_ to be so adorable and cute around him, didn't she? Did she not see what she was doing to him!

Sasuke thought back to the incident last night when she had…fallen on top.._.of him_. Oh dear god, it took all of his will and sanity to keep himself composed, what with her…_chest_…pressed against him whilst she was wearing those flimsy pieces of clothing that she called pyjamas.

Yes it was her fault. All her fault.

"Dobe, I swear if you tell her, I'll maim you." Shikamaru and Neji nodded in agreement.

"Easy now boys, why would I tell them, when this is the perfect opportunity!"

Shikamaru eyed the crazy blonde suspiciously "Perfect opportunity for what..?"

"To win them over of course! Geeze Nara, I thought you were the smart one."

"I am the smart one, and what exactly do you suggest we do?"

Naruto thought for a second….then looked up sheepishly and shrugged. The three other boys groaned.

"Where are the girls anyway?" Naruto asked.

"They were in the kitchen before, and then they snuck into Ino and Shikamaru's room."

Naruto's eyes widened "When you say they 'snuck' do you mean they _sneaky snuck_ or they just snuck?"

Neji stared at the blonde incredulously "I don't know…why does it even matter?"

"Because they could be having a secret conversation, which could provide us with potential win-their-love-before-some-other-douche-steals-them-from-us information! DUH!"

"What do propose we do then, dobe?"

"We spy on them of course!" said Naruto, throwing his hands up in glee.

"You want us to spy on the girls…in order to have a trustworthy and honest relationship with them?" asked Shikamaru. "You're insane."

"Well fine then" said Naruto "if you want some other guy to date them, then marry them and have BILLIONS of babies with them, FINE! Be my guest."

The four boys eyed each other for a moment, and then before you could even blink all four of them raced up the stair and pressed their ears against Ino and Shikamaru's bedroom door.

"Dobe, move you're in my way!"

"You move teme; you're stepping on my hand!"

"That's my hand he's stepping on dumbass!"

"Neji, you're hairs in my face!"

"It's in my face too!"

"Well maybe if you would stop moving dobe-"

"I can't help it, Shikamaru keeps pushing me!"

"I'm trying to get your fat ass out of my face!"

"Uchiha, would you get your foot off my hand!"

"Would you three shut up! I can't hear anything!"

They fell silent and heard hushed, feminine muttering coming from the other side of the door.

Naruto groaned "I can't hear _anything_!" he received three "Ssshhhh!" in reply.

As the boys pressed their heads further into the hard wooden door, they heard the unmistakeable voice of Ino declare "ALRIGHT, LET'S GO!"

The next thing they knew, the door that had been concealing them was suddenly flung open.

**CRASH!**

"Wha- what are you guys doing here?"


	5. Encounters of the Awkward Kind

_This first three chapters belong to Ryoko101. Please see my profile for more details._

_Naruto© belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. No infringement of copyright is intended._

* * *

><p>Wha-what are you doing here?<p>

...

Well this is awkward..

Naruto, Sasuke, Shikamaru and Neji lay in a heap on the ground at the feet of a very confused Ino.

This isn't the best method for a stealth intel retreval operation, if anyone was wondering...

The girls stared bewildered at the pile of men that had just landed in the room. It was quite coincidental, as the fore mentioned men were the topic of their heated discussion.

Sakura blinked at the disgruntled Uchiha, who was rubbing his head in pain from where Naruto landed on it. Sasuke was acting really strange lately, with the being nice and the stuttering and this whole situation just added to Sakura's suspicions...

"_What if he does…like…me? Maybe Ino's right..."_

_"__**That would be a first..."**_

Inner Sakura was right, Ino was not known for her keen insight into the mind of a teenage boy. Sakura quickly erased the thought from her mind. This was Sasuke Uchiha she was talking about. The man had fewer emotions than a wet sock.

She returned her attention back to Ino and the interrogation of the pile of boys.

"So? I'm waiting for an explanation. What are you guys doing outside our door exactly?" Ino asked, hands on her hips with a sleek eyebrow raised. Her foot began tapping in irritation…that was always a bad sign.

When Ino's foot gets tapping, you better start running.

The boys, who were still on the floor, exchanged nervous glances. Not good. _Very_ not good.

"Aha...well you see…" started Naruto until Ino cut him off.

"Were you guys _eavesdropping_ on our _private_ conversation?" the slightly hysterical blonde girl screeched.

"No No No No No!" Naruto denied, shaking his head furiously. If the girls found out that they _had_ actually been eavesdropping on them, the boys would be cooked. They'd be skewered, them marinated then sizzled over an open flame. And the EATEN!

"Well then. What _were_ you doing?" Ino asked again, a frown evident on her glossed lips.

"Well…um… you see..." Naruto began nervously. The other three boys had picked themselves off the floor, but poor Naruto was just too scared of what Ino or the other girls would do to him if they found out what he and the other guys were up to. Naruto was never good under pressure.

Shikamaru glanced down at the blubbering blonde buffoon still on the floor, desperately trying to come up with an excuse. He knew that if they left it up to Naruto to cover their tracks, the girls would definitely eat them for lunch.

So it was up to him. The live of the boys rested in his hands.

"We were just wondering if you girls wanted to join us to a trip to the mall…or something..." Shikamaru slipped into the conversation.

"YES!" exclaimed Naruto leaping into the air and wrapping his arm around the Nara boys shoulder, "That is _exactly_ what we were doing outside your door! Right Shika!"

"Get your arm off me."

"Yes sir."

Ino's frown immediately disappeared from her face and was replaced with a dazzling grin. "The mall? As in… SHOPPING!" she began clapping her hands together in glee and bouncing up and down. "Oh yes yes yes yes YES!"

Sasuke and Neji exchanged glances. That Shikamaru was a sly one. What better topic to distract Ino than her favorite hobby.

"Hang on; we'll need Itachi or Kiku to come with us, remember?" came Tenten's voice of reason.

Sasuke's eye's narrowed at the mention of his brother's name. Anything involving Itachi would not be good. His older brother made a game of tormenting the younger Uchiha, and with Sasuke's new found feelings for a certain pink-haired girl, if Itachi were to find out…

Sasuke'd rather not think about what his brother would do to humiliate him. It was decided, there was _no way_ that Itachi could find out about Sasuke's _affection_ towards Sakura.

Tenten turned to Sakura "Where are those two anyway?"

"I think I saw Kiku go outside into the backyard. Itachi's probably with her, those two are never far apart."

The girls shared a knowing glance at one another that the boys missed.

Ino clapped hands together in an authoritative manner. "Alrighty, you boys go round up Itachi and Kiku, and we'll get dressed. We'll meet you downstairs in five minutes!" and with that, Ino shooed the four slightly alarmed boys out of her room.

As the door slammed shut behind them the boys turned to each other.

"You know…it'll probably take them half an hour to get ready…" deadpanned Neji and the three remaining men nodded their heads meekly.

"Quick thinking back their Shikamaru," piped up Naruto as they headed down the stairs, "I can't believe they actually fell for that!"

* * *

><p>"You didn't actually fall for that, did you Ino?"<p>

"Of course not Tennie my dear!" chirped Ino as she rummaged through her drawers, searching for a cute top to match her shorts. "Those four are obviously up to something, but it wasn't like they were just going to tell us what they were doing." She pulled out a lime green toped and held it in front of her chest. "Do you think this goes with my shorts?"

"I like your yellow shirt better with them." answered Sakura who began poking through Ino's closet for some clothes she could borrow…or possibly steal, "What do you suppose they were actually doing then?"

Ino was back in her drawer searching for her yellow top "Well isn't it obvious, they were spying on us. Duh."

"Why would they be doing that?" whispered Hinata who hadn't moved from her place on Ino's bed. When Naruto had walking in…or rather fell in..to Ino's room it had rendered poor Hinata frozen.

Ino pulled out the top she was looking for and yanked it over her head. "I don't know, probably had something to do with Sasuke's raging crush on Sakura over here." She walked over to the full length mirror and sent her pink headed friend a smug grin, which Sakura returned with a disapproving frown and glare.

"_No one_ has a raging crush on _anyone_ pig. Well… except maybe Hinata's crush on Naruto."

Hinata whimpered from her place on the bed.

"Don't worry Hina-chan" Sakura said reassuringly to her timid friend, "I bet he feels the same way."

"And we're going to find out! Along with if Sasuke really _does_ have a crush on Sakura." Ino said, smoothing out the wrinkles in her shirt.

Before Sakura could protest she was cut off by Tenten. "Come on Sak, it couldn't hurt to do a little snooping. What better way to activate plan _notice-me-you-stupid-asexual-male _than with some good old fashioned snooping.

It was true; the girls had been discussing how to gain the attention of their seemingly androgynous counterparts before the said males, not so gracefully, crashed into the room.

"What's the plan here Ino?" asked Tenten.

The conniving blonde turned back from the mirror and faced her companions with a Cheshire grin on her face.

"Divide and conquer, ladies."

* * *

><p>The boys ventured outside to find Itachi and Kiku in a rater…intimate position.<p>

The two were sitting on one of the benches, with their lips locked and arms tangled around each other, small moans escaping from the females…_occupied_ mouth. Not particularly a sight any of the boys would have preferred to have observed. The couple was oblivious to their new visitors, until Naruto spoke up.

"Eeww! Big teme, stop eating Kiku-san's face!" interrupted Naruto, a tone of disgust evident in his voice.

The couple abruptly broke apart, a furious spreading on both their faces, showing their embarrassment for getting caught. Itachi cleared his throat and tried to regain composure. "Oh...Hey guy…we didn't see you there…"

"Yeah…you seemed kind of busy." Neji put in sarcastically.

Itachi and Kiku were looking everywhere but at each other. They were just beginning to enjoy themselves. Why did those guys have to barge in and interrupt them? _'This is _so_ not fair'_ thought Kiku.

Sasuke's right eye was twitching. He really did not need to see that. Though Itachi found it sadistically hilarious to torment his younger brother, Sasuke still saw him as an aloof yet sophisticated role model. Not some hormone crazed teenage boy. This completely shattered Sasuke's entire impression of his older brother, and would scar the boy for the rest of his life.

Although… if Itachi was distracted with his…_activities_ with Kiku, then maybe he wouldn't wise up to Sasuke's feelings about Sakura.

Oh yes, this could work out nicely.

"What is it that you guys wanted?" Itachi tried again to recover and control the situation, although the blush hadn't fully decapitated from his face.

"We need you two to come with us and the girls to the mall." explained Shikamaru.

"But if you two are too busy…" Naruto added with a sly grin on his face. He wriggled his eyebrows suggestively at Kiku.

"Do that again Uzumaki and I'll rip those furry little caterpillars you call eyebrows right off your face." Kiku growled.

Naruto gulped and cowered behind Neji. That lady could be scary.

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "The mall? What, did this place get too boring for you in less than a day?"

"Nah the girls just wanted to go." Naruto piped in, still behind Neji.

"And you guys decided to go with them, why?" Itachi asked. Something was definitely up with these four.

'_Shit. He's on to us.' _Sasuke would never here the end of this if his brother was to find out.

"We need food." Sasuke spat out.

"The fridge and pantry was stocked up before you got here. There should be plenty of food" countered Itachi

"Naruto was hungry." came Sasuke's reply.

"Ah…yeah that makes sense…" not even Itachi could argue with Naruto's appetite.

Itachi turned to Kiku, 'What do you say?" he asked.

"A shopping spree could be fun." She hopped up and walked to the door, "you guys get the car and we'll meet you there in five minutes." And with that she bounded off to find the other girls.

Itachi sighed. "Knowing them, it'll probably take them half an hour…"

"That's what Neji said!" said Naruto, leaping out from behind the Hyuga male.

"Yeah, yeah…come on let's go..." Itachi began leading the boy back inside, he turned around "And guys, next time... please for the love of god…_knock._"


End file.
